Chris Malone

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The Twelve Scams Of Christmas

by Chris Malone,posted Dec 14 2012 5:18AM

Cyber-Scrooges are working overtime to make sure your Christmas is not very merry. Be smart and beat them at their own game. Antivirus software company McAfee has identified the top 12 scams of Christmas that criminals are using to try to steal from you as you shop online this holiday season. Before you hit the "buy now" button, beware the number one risk of online shopping!

1. Social Media Scams
Cybercriminals know social media networks are a good place to catch you off guard because we're all "friends," right? Scammers use channels, like Facebook and Twitter, just like email and websites to scam consumers during the holidays. Be careful when clicking or liking posts, especially while taking advantage of raffle contests and fan page deals that you get from your "friends" that advertise the hottest holiday gifts. Also be wary of installing apps to receive discounts. Remember, your friends' accounts could have been hacked and so are sending out fake alerts. Twitter ads and special discounts utilize blind, shortened links, many of which could easily be malicious.

2. Malicious Mobile Apps
As the popularity of applications has grown, so have the chances that you could download a malicious application designed to steal your information or even send out premium-rate text messages without your knowledge.

3. Travel Scams
Before you book your flight or hotel for holiday travel, keep in mind that scammers are looking to hook you with too-good-to-be-true deals. Phony travel websites, sometimes using your preferred company, with beautiful pictures and rock-bottom prices are used to get you to hand over your financial details.

4. Holiday Spam/Phishing
Many of these spam emails now have holiday themes. Cheap Rolex watches and pharmaceuticals may be advertised as the "perfect gift" for that special someone.

5. iPhone 5, iPad Mini and Other Hot Holiday Gift Scams
The kind of excitement and buzz surrounding Apple's new iPhone 5 or iPad Mini is just what cybercrooks dream of when they plot their scams. They will mention must-have holiday gifts in dangerous links, phony contests (example: "Free iPad") and phishing emails as a way to grab computer users' attention to get you to reveal personal information or click on a dangerous link that could download malware onto your machine.

6. Skype Message Scare
People around the world will use Skype to connect with loved ones this holiday season, but they should be aware of a new Skype message scam that attempts to infect their machine, and even hold their files for ransom.

The threat appears as a Skype instant message with the scam line “Lol is this your new profile pic?”. If you click on the included link, a Trojan downloads onto your hard drive, blasts the dangerous link to all of your contacts, and can even try to extort money from some PC users to regain access to their files.

TIP: Never click on a suspicious link, even if it appears to come on from someone you know.

7. Bogus Gift Cards
Cybercriminals can't help but want to get in on the action by offering bogus gift cards online. Be wary of buying gift cards from third parties; just imagine how embarrassing it would be to find out that the gift card you gave your mother-in-law was fraudulent!

8. Holiday SMiShing
"SMiSishing" is phishing via text message. Just like with email phishing, the scammer tries to lure you into revealing information or performing an action you normally wouldn't do by pretending to be a legitimate organization.

9. Phony E-tailers
Phony e-commerce sites that appear real try to lure you into revealing your credit card number and other personal details, often by promoting great deals. But after obtaining your money and information, you never receive the merchandise, and your personal information is put at risk.

10. Fake Charities
This is one of the biggest scams of every holiday season. As we open up our hearts and wallets, the bad guys hope to get in on the giving by sending spam emails advertising fake charities.

11. Dangerous E-cards
E-Cards are a popular way to send a quick "thank you" or holiday greeting, but some are malicious and may contain spyware or viruses that download onto your computer once you click on the link to view the greeting.

12. Phony Classifieds

Online classified sites may be a great place to look for holiday gifts and part-time jobs, but beware of phony offers that ask for too much personal information or ask you to wire funds via Western Union, since these are most likely scams.